By Douglas V. Gibbs
After lunch at an Italian Restaurant, as a part of our day together to celebrate our 26th Wedding Anniversary, my wife and I visited the Richard M. Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California. As we walked toward the entrance, a fountain greeted us. Through the doors we perused the Museum Store, then entered the first great room.
To the left was a greeting to the Museum, straight ahead the main theater, to the right a journey of pictures that detailed the history of Richard Nixon's family in America, and his childhood and young adult life. After reading about the younger Nixon, we moved through the other halls, where the details of his political career unfolded for us in pictures, artifacts, and video.
One section was dedicated to Pat Nixon's gowns, another to the space program. Then, after the path through the history of Nixon's presidency, including Vietnam and Watergate, we exited to the back area to be faced with a reflection pool, and an amphitheater donated by Bob and Dolores Hope.I have always been intrigued by Pat Nixon because one of the schools I attended during my third grade year was Pat Nixon Elementary School in Cerritos, California. So inside I was captured by all of the information about her, and it helped me appreciate the wonderful person she truly was. Outside, Pat Nixon's rose garden's path was not only beautiful, but the aroma of the various roses surely captured the essence of who Pat truly was.
A landmark marker plate was at the edge of Pat Nixon's rose garden. The text on the marker provided a brief history about the location, the house, and Nixon's history as a servant to his Country. Listed on the marker is the fact that Richard M. Nixon served as a Congressman, U.S. Senator, Vice President, and the 37th President of the United States of America.Across from the rose garden was the burial place of both Richard and Pat Nixon. The story is that originally California did not allow the bodies of the two to rest on the property. In the State of California, cemeteries are not allowed on private property. But a church purchased the small section, and designated the piece of turf as a cemetery, and ultimately the final resting place of Richard and Pat Nixon became a spot between Pat Nixon's rose garden, and the small house that Richard Nixon spent his childhood in.
As my wife walked off to read some of the plaques, I ventured around to the other side of the amphitheater. From my vantage point the buildings rose around me, with the reflection pool to my left, and the rose garden and resting place of the Nixon's to my right. I inhaled the history, and the scent of the freshly mowed grass that the chairs in the amphitheater sat on. Then I turned around as my wife joined me, and we proceeded to the front of Nixon's birthplace, where a guide told us, and a group of other folks, about the house, and how it still sits in its original location. The house, at one point, had been lifted up to provide space for a more solid foundation to be placed beneath it. Otherwise, the house had never been disturbed.
After a short talk about the house, and the Quaker faith of Nixon's mother, she proceeded to lead us into the small home.
The living room had a piano, violin stand (we were later told that the violin is currently on loan to the Smithsonian), and a horned instrument. National Geographic magazines adorned an end table, and pictures of the Nixon family sat upon the mantle above the fireplace that Nixon's father built with his own hands. Richard Nixon loved music, was an avid reader, and his family history meant a lot to him. The artifacts in the living room were testimony to those facts.
The small kitchen had the original wood burning stove, a California cupboard that had openings down below so that the cool air could rise up from under the house into the space, and a small sink. Around the corner was a washroom with a giant tub, and beyond that a couple bedrooms with a small bathroom in between.
Originally, the house did not have a bathroom. An outhouse outside was the only toilet they had. Once indoor plumbing became readily available, one of the bedrooms lost a small space, and the bathroom was added in that donated section. Because the boys became too numerous, another space was added upstairs, later becoming Richard's bedroom.
After the tour of the house, we exited to the back, went back around the house, approaching the helicopter that carried Nixon to Andrews Air Force Base after his resignation. A gentleman was explaining the details of the aircraft, including the fact that the engine was no longer inside the shell, and the flag looks backward on the side under the rotor blades because it was painted to imitate what it would look like if the wind was blowing it. When the man finished his presentation, he led the small group into the aircraft, with my wife and I bringing up the tail.
Inside, it was more spacious than expected. A couple red phones adorned the bulkheads, and the seating provided quite a bit of elbow room considering it was in a helicopter. I had to lower my head just a little bit because the ceiling was brushing the top of my head. The cockpit was undisturbed, sectioned off by Plexiglas. Two pilot seats, both with sticks, faced forward. To the rear of the craft was a small door leading to a bathroom, and more seating. Outside, the presidential seal decorated the side of the aircraft, near the front.
After the tour of the helicopter, I received the opportunity to speak with the guide for a moment. We discussed Nixon, history, and the U.S. Constitution. After hearing me discuss with him my knowledge of history and the Constitution, he and his assistant recommended that I look into becoming a member of their staff. "Sorry," I told them, "Between my day job, running for City Council, writing, my radio show, and public speaking events, time would probably not provide me enough opportunities to do the job as well as they deserved.
After circling back around the house, and to the opposite of the courtyard than we first entered it, my wife and I entered a great hall, and ultimately a replica of the East Room from the White House, decorated as it had been during the Nixon presidency.
On the opposite wall to the far right was a portrait of Teddy Roosevelt, and George Washington. McKinley's portrait sat on the far left of the wall. The floor is wood, and the curtains thick. The chandeliers were bigger than any I had ever seen, and the room was big enough to engulf most smaller three bedroom houses.
The final stretch was a long hall. A blue and tan carpet led us out of the East Room and into the hall. As we walked down the hall, with all of the state flags lined up on the left, I realized there were also inlets displaying samples of the China used in the White House dining room, complete with photographs as well. Along the right side of the hall was a line of American Flags on standing poles between the windows that were opened up to the reflection pool. Then at the end of the hall, to the right, was a bust of Richard Nixon, and then the great room we had first entered at the beginning of our tour.
I purchased a replica of the U.S. Constitution in the shop, and then walked outside as the sun reached the treetops. The fountain continued to shoot its water upward. Our afternoon celebrating our wedding anniversary had only begun, but the Nixon Library and Birthplace Museum was definitely a great way to start the day. My wife and I both entered the truck with smiles, commenting on how fun the Richard M. Nixon Library had truly been.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
As my wife walked off to read some of the plaques, I ventured around to the other side of the amphitheater. From my vantage point the buildings rose around me, with the reflection pool to my left, and the rose garden and resting place of the Nixon's to my right. I inhaled the history, and the scent of the freshly mowed grass that the chairs in the amphitheater sat on. Then I turned around as my wife joined me, and we proceeded to the front of Nixon's birthplace, where a guide told us, and a group of other folks, about the house, and how it still sits in its original location. The house, at one point, had been lifted up to provide space for a more solid foundation to be placed beneath it. Otherwise, the house had never been disturbed.
After a short talk about the house, and the Quaker faith of Nixon's mother, she proceeded to lead us into the small home.
The living room had a piano, violin stand (we were later told that the violin is currently on loan to the Smithsonian), and a horned instrument. National Geographic magazines adorned an end table, and pictures of the Nixon family sat upon the mantle above the fireplace that Nixon's father built with his own hands. Richard Nixon loved music, was an avid reader, and his family history meant a lot to him. The artifacts in the living room were testimony to those facts.The small kitchen had the original wood burning stove, a California cupboard that had openings down below so that the cool air could rise up from under the house into the space, and a small sink. Around the corner was a washroom with a giant tub, and beyond that a couple bedrooms with a small bathroom in between.
Originally, the house did not have a bathroom. An outhouse outside was the only toilet they had. Once indoor plumbing became readily available, one of the bedrooms lost a small space, and the bathroom was added in that donated section. Because the boys became too numerous, another space was added upstairs, later becoming Richard's bedroom.
After the tour of the house, we exited to the back, went back around the house, approaching the helicopter that carried Nixon to Andrews Air Force Base after his resignation. A gentleman was explaining the details of the aircraft, including the fact that the engine was no longer inside the shell, and the flag looks backward on the side under the rotor blades because it was painted to imitate what it would look like if the wind was blowing it. When the man finished his presentation, he led the small group into the aircraft, with my wife and I bringing up the tail.Inside, it was more spacious than expected. A couple red phones adorned the bulkheads, and the seating provided quite a bit of elbow room considering it was in a helicopter. I had to lower my head just a little bit because the ceiling was brushing the top of my head. The cockpit was undisturbed, sectioned off by Plexiglas. Two pilot seats, both with sticks, faced forward. To the rear of the craft was a small door leading to a bathroom, and more seating. Outside, the presidential seal decorated the side of the aircraft, near the front.
After the tour of the helicopter, I received the opportunity to speak with the guide for a moment. We discussed Nixon, history, and the U.S. Constitution. After hearing me discuss with him my knowledge of history and the Constitution, he and his assistant recommended that I look into becoming a member of their staff. "Sorry," I told them, "Between my day job, running for City Council, writing, my radio show, and public speaking events, time would probably not provide me enough opportunities to do the job as well as they deserved.
After circling back around the house, and to the opposite of the courtyard than we first entered it, my wife and I entered a great hall, and ultimately a replica of the East Room from the White House, decorated as it had been during the Nixon presidency.On the opposite wall to the far right was a portrait of Teddy Roosevelt, and George Washington. McKinley's portrait sat on the far left of the wall. The floor is wood, and the curtains thick. The chandeliers were bigger than any I had ever seen, and the room was big enough to engulf most smaller three bedroom houses.
The final stretch was a long hall. A blue and tan carpet led us out of the East Room and into the hall. As we walked down the hall, with all of the state flags lined up on the left, I realized there were also inlets displaying samples of the China used in the White House dining room, complete with photographs as well. Along the right side of the hall was a line of American Flags on standing poles between the windows that were opened up to the reflection pool. Then at the end of the hall, to the right, was a bust of Richard Nixon, and then the great room we had first entered at the beginning of our tour.I purchased a replica of the U.S. Constitution in the shop, and then walked outside as the sun reached the treetops. The fountain continued to shoot its water upward. Our afternoon celebrating our wedding anniversary had only begun, but the Nixon Library and Birthplace Museum was definitely a great way to start the day. My wife and I both entered the truck with smiles, commenting on how fun the Richard M. Nixon Library had truly been.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
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